Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk (13) is congratulated by teammate Johan Franzen after scoring against Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, left, during the third period of Detroit's 1-0 win in Game 1 of a first-round NHL playoff hockey series, in Boston on Friday, April 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Did you forget what a special, unique and truly gifted hockey player Pavel Datsyuk is?

Well, there is a reminder for you.

Datsyuk’s goal, with a little more than three minutes remaining Friday, will be one of those plays discussed for many years.

Not only did it give the Red Wings a 1-0 victory to open the Stanley Cup playoffs against the top-seeded Boston Bruins, but it was one of those magical moments that separate Datsyuk from virtually every other hockey player.

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The reaching back, one arm fully-extended, but not breaking stride. The gathering of the puck while maintaining such a high-rate of speed and making moves. The sniper shot that beat Boston goalie Tukkaa Rask cleanly.

There have been plenty of epic goals scored in Stanley Cup playoff history, but precious few as spectacular.

With all the talk about the Red Wings’ “kids,” Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs belonged to the old stand by.

Datsyuk missed much of the season because of an ailing knee, but he is obviously back.

That goal was beyond impressive.

It wasn’t the only reason the Red Wings won the game, though.

If anything, they carried play during the first two periods against the big, bad Bruins on the road.

Then, in the third period, as the Bruins made their predicable charge, Red Wings’ goalie Jimmy Howard made several spectacular saves.

Like Datsyuk, this wasn’t Howard’s best regular season because of injuries, but he played increasingly well down the stretch as the Red Wings squeezed into the playoffs for the 23rd straight season.

And Howard was in top form Friday.

A promising element about the Red Wings is their style of play.

The Bruins have been painted as a big lumbering team, but they move the puck well and have more than a little skill.

But the beauty of the Red Wings is they aren’t one of those eighth seeds in the playoffs that have to play a neutral zone trapping game because they can’t skate with the opposition.

They have a couple outstanding power skaters, but the Red Wings aren’t so much collectively fast as quick. An underrated factor of hockey is the skill of passing. The Red Wings move the puck exceptionally well in their own end. It means long stretches with possession of the puck, which is what they did so well during their salad days.

The Red Wings “kids” did play well Friday. Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar were threatening. Tomas Jurco had a strong game.

If there was anything discomforting, it was the Red Wings looked disoriented defensively at times.

However, that’s splitting hairs. They won a 1-0 game on the road in the playoffs. While Howard played well, it wasn’t like the Red Wings defense left him out to dry, either.

The Red Wings were consistently able to get the puck in deep behind the Bruins’ defense, and their forecheck was excellent. They made it very difficult for the Bruins on a number of different levels.

Here’s fair warning, though: The Bruins are resilient. It looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs had Boston defeated during the third period of Game 7 of the opening round last season – and lost.

But what a start.

It was a textbook example of how to win a road game in the playoffs, and in the end, the Red Wings’ big star, Datsyuk, came through brilliantly, reminding the world in the process he is still one of the very best.

About the Author

Pat Caputo has written as a beat writer and sports columnist for The Oakland Press since 1984 and blogs at http://patcaputo.blogspot.com/. Reach the author at pat.caputo@oakpress.com
or follow Pat on Twitter: @PatCaputo98.